NCAA: Morgan State coach Bozeman back in NCAA tourney after eight-year ban for paying recruit

NCAA: Bozeman back in tourney

Todd Bozeman finally gets the feeling of the NCAA tournament again, now that Morgan State has tipped off against second-seeded West Virginia. He was banned by the NCAA for eight years after he admitted to paying a recruit while coaching at California, where he led those Bears to three tournament appearances.

Already Reggie Holmes has knocked down a 3 for the Bears’ first basket. He’s the school’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Marvin Webster earlier this season.

Minnesota came out for its shootaround before playing sixth-seeded Xavier in Milwaukee wearing shirts that say “RESPECT” on the back.

The Gophers have won seven of their last 10 games to play their way into the first round, but lost to Ohio State by 29 in the Big Ten tournament finals.

Cornell forward Alex Tyler has his right calf heavily taped for the Temple game in the East Regional. He practiced Thursday for the first time in two weeks, then said, “They’ll have to kill me to keep me off the court.”

The opening day of the NCAA tournament shocked the Big East — three teams lost and another won in overtime. It thrilled double-digit seeds — three of them won. And it wore out fans with three games going overtime, including BYU’s 99-92 double-overtime win against Florida.

Can the second day live up to the madness?

Things get started with Morgan State and West Virginia in the East Regional, followed by Minnesota-Xavier in the West and the game a lot of folks are keeping an eye on: fifth-seeded Temple against No. 12 seed Cornell, two teams that most people consider under-seeded.

Let the games begin.